it down to the local level, closer to the people. and no new taxes, without voter approval. we have got to pull together not as republicans or as democrats but as californians first. at this stage in my life, i'm prepared to do exactly that. children who lived through last week's deadly inferno at san bruno are forced to relive those memories as another grade school is evacuated because of the smell of natural gas. >> this is the second school evacuation in two days where the explosion killed four and destroyed dozens of homes. >> terry mcsweeney joins us now from san bruno. nerves rattled again. >> yes. and certainly adds to the uncertainty in this neighborhood.

you can see fire trucks, police, pg&e, cleanup crews. the list goes on. a lot of flashing lights. you see the american red cross over there as well. no wonder people out here are on edge. a new report may give them more reason to be that way. >> a day of school for two girls. the school was being evacuated. no one said why. >> i talked to them and they told me there was the smell of gas. >> in the community where the school was evacuated for the same reason yesterday, people are on edge. that's why joe lynch is making sure he stays cool as possible. >> i'm just more concerned about them not getting freaked out again because we did see the explosion and it's had quite an effect on them. i'm just trying to remain as calm as possible with them and reassure them. >> the crestmore children were evacuated to the intermediate

school. he couldn't believe it when he heard the announcement her school was coming his way because of the report of natural gas. >> kind of freaks me out cause i saw it happen. i was standing outside my house when it happened. >> the explosion and fire last week? >> yeah. >> now pg&e is saying it new last year about problems with the line that blew last week. compression oil was found all in milpitas. it can cause corrosion and weaken transmission lines. >> we did identify there was liquid. we test it had to make sure that everything looks okay and it tested okay. >> but assurances have not been enough up to this point to ease the nerves people in the glenview neighborhood of san bruno, especially the younger witnesses of this tragedy. pg&e is also working to calm down the a controversy over the amount of pressure in its gas lines. the puc asked pg&e to reduce it

by 20%. it cut it 10% after the explosion. it hasn't responded to the 20%. now we're told as of yesterday it has reduced pressure by 20% making them perhaps a bit safer. maybe a step in the right direction but as we heard not enough to calm the people out here whose nerves really are on edge. terry mcsweeney, abc 7 news. >> thanks a lot. other news, contra costa county sheriff deputies and say there's no connection of a sexual assault of a woman last night and three other attacks at the same apartment complex over the summer. the victim told investigators she was assaulted during a home invasion robbery last night at the park regency apartments on oak road in unincorporated walnut creek. police have no suspect descriptions. antonio muton has been charged with one rape and two attempted rapes that happened at the same apartment complex. if convicted he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

>> joe biden released a report today about the 100 recovery projects that are changing america. >> the bay area is benefiting from several that includes expanding the caldecott sunshine which is using $198 million in recovery act funds. >> in addition, nearly 9 million dollars is going to creating jobs and growing small businesses in snowstorm. >> $2.8 billion is being used for the bay bridge retrofit project. $10 million was awarded to groups on how to avert disaster, specifically earthquakes. >> $13 million to companies that manufacture charging stations of electric vehicles in san jose. finally $19 million to flood prevention projects, also san jose. >> state lawmakers and governor schwarzenegger will resume budget talks within a half hour. the big five met yesterday with the governor three hours. democratic leaders were optimistic but the press secretary didn't indicate significant progress.

today markets a record 79 days the state has gone without a budget. >> california's unemployment rate remained fairly steady last month but it did creep up to 12.4%. it was 12.3% in july. the state development department said the state lost 33,000 non-farming jobs in august. more than 2 million people are unemployed in california. >> if you're looking for a job, abc 7 and the job journal are cosponsoring a job fair on tuesday, september 28th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. you can find more information on our website, abc7news.com, under "see it on tv." >> a frightening fast-moving fire in palo alto this morning prompted several evacuations and may have been started by a candle that was left burning. neighbors from half a dozen homes had to make a run for it about 7:00 this morning. the big problem right now though it shut down a portion of university avenue and that is blocking access to stanford

until at least noon. abc 7's theresa garcia reports. >> flames were shooting out from the rooftop of a palo alto home this morning taking over what began as a small fire in an upstairs bedroom. >> the smoke detector in the hall went off. >> i woke up, and there was just a bunch of heat and smoke. and i got out of my bed. i went to the room next to my bedroom. that's where the fire was. >> 24-year-old john beamer said he tried to put it out but was repelled by the heat. >> a piece of a desk set was on fire. that was an inferno. >> he was running around trying to -- trying to contain it. so we persuaded him to get out because we didn't know how things would develop. >> the family all escaped safely and their neighbors on university avenue say it was good timing because the fire grew so fast. >> accelerated unbelievable.

within two minutes it was -- it was just scary. >> the palo alto fire department arrived shortly after 7 a.m. but crews' efforts were cut short within 20 minutes. >> we were doing an interior tact and had electrical wires and had to pull the crews out. >> while much of this grand old home built in 1901 is destroyed, there's a safety lesson. the fire is believed to have started from a burning candle. >> i must have not put it out. so, you know, just remember that. >> well, the house fire has been put out but now the danger of the roof collapsing is keeping those crews from entering to recover valuables from the first floor. meanwhile the traffic is still being divertedoff that major thoroughfare and expected to be

that way the next several hours while cleanup is completed. >> theresa, thanks a lot. funeral services are just getting under way for two of the victims of the san bruno disaster. a mother and daughter, jacqueline and janessa gray. the catholic in san francisco. >> the service just got underway minutes ago. this church holds 900 people and every seat is filled. people arrived hours ago to get here and get a seat at saint cecilia catholic church. there are family members, relatives, classmating of jenessa, even he strangers to remember and celebrate the lives of mother and daughter. the two were killed in last thursday's san bruno explosion and fire. the pipeline blast happened just next to their home. 13-year-old janessa served as student body president and was very active in basketball,

volleyball and mexican folk dancing. her mom, 44-year-old jackie, worked at the california puc over 20 years, one of the entities actually investigating this blast. friends and family say they were very active in their church and very active in the community. >> she's so bright. i mean, like she when in the classroom, everyone enjoys having her around. just a really happy person. >> jackie and i worked together at the public utilities commission and our kids have grown up together having attended kindergarten all the way through 8th grade. it's important for us to be here to support the family and have closure to this terrible event. >> the two leave behind jackie's husband and janessa's older sister who attends high school nearby. several agencies including the church, her school, and cpuc have set up funds for the greg fame and you can find more information on that at our

website. abc 7 news. >> thank you. rescuers in chile reach a major break through to reach trapped miners. that story coming up. >> security increases even more in london after police say threats were made against the pope. and... >> show me which one! >> an angry confrontation aboard sdd >> ...berber carpet. it was a whole bowl of stew. nooo. why? i could have saved this one. i could have saved this one. ♪ call 1-800-steemer

>> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld.

>> i will kill bleep! >> this video shows a father who boarded his 11-year-old daughter's bus in central florida to confront her alleged bullies. she has cerebral palsy and he said some kids on the bus had been taunting her, hitting her and even throwing condoms at her. he brought her on board and asked her to point them out. >> show me which one! >> show me! >> my daughter is not going to be touched on and -- >> he was later arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing a school function. his attorney says he is only trying to protect her daughter who is now on suicide watch. her mother says it's not fair she's afraid to ride the bus. they are investigating those allegations of bullying. >> pope benedict has no plans to

change his schedule in britain after threats were made against him this morning. london police arrested five street cleaners in an early morning raid under the country's terrorism laws. a sixth person was arrested later. the men have been questioned and have not been charged. police increased security even more around the pope who travels in a bullet-proof vehicle. pope benedict is not worried. he met with thousands of school children on the second day of his trip. >> an effort to rescue 33 trapped miners. a bore hole for an eventually rescue has reached those miners. they have been trapped since august 5th. this is video they shot. crews have to widen the hole so the miners can be pulled through it. rescue is still six weeks away. it allows food and water and

medical supplies. >> flight arrival delays into sfo, about an hour 2 minutes. let's check our flight tracker at abc7news.com. let's talk about how this extra humidity is going to leave us some rain this weekend. i'll tell you when and where. >> paying for a faster commute. a toll lane in the bay area coming to a major highway monday morning. !%

♪ meteorologist mike nicco with a lot of weather to talk about. >> rare occurrence in new york, specifically the bronx. let's take a look at the damage that occurred yesterday. some of the buildings roofs torn off, trees, lots of cars, a dangerous situation when you have a tornado, possible tornado. they haven't quite decided yet -- i'm sorry, brooklyn -- haven't quite decided yet whether or not this has been a tornado. but officials are out there right now. did have one confirmed tornado but it was woodruff, new jersey. let's talk about what's going on here sat home.

you see the cloud cover, the fast-streaming clouds, humidity. kind of humid out there in a lot of areas. more so than what we're used to. clouds not doing anything to our temperatures. you see clouds throughout the bay into the south bay and along the coast. but it's a mild flow off the ocean. that's why most of us are in the mid to upper 60s around the bay, 70 mountain view, san jose. napa, fairfield, concord and antioch. inland mid to upper 60s until you get to gilroy at about 73. mild today with more clouds and humidity. sunshine and clouds for saturday pushed rain back into sunday. that's the difference from yesterday's forecast. it's going to be brighter, drier and warmer next week. for our temperatures today over in the east bay, that's where we'll start. upper 70s to near 80. partly sunny on the east bay shore richmond and berkeley. south bay mid to upper 70s with san jose about 78 degrees. partly sunny on the peninsula, low to mid-70s for you but palo

alto and the clouds will remain pretty thick along the north bay coast with temperatures low 60s there. partly cloudy and mid to upper 70s the north bay valleys. sunshine around morgan hill, gilroy, hollister. call it mostly sunny with temperatures near 80 but mostly cloudy around the monterey bay with monterey at 68. santa cruz at 74 degrees. got a game tonight. we're a half game up on the dodgers. but still time for the wildcard, see if anything happens with the braves. take this from the brewers, 7:15 first pitch. foggy, possibly a little misty, temperature 67. clouds continue to take over all our neighborhoods, patches of drizzle possible. upper 50s to low 60s for the rest of us. 5:00 saturday morning, look at the cloud cover. we'll have breaks in the cloud.

expect sunshine and a mild day for saturday afternoon. temperatures today a little cooler. by sunday morning, 7:00, 8:00, rain's moving into the north bay. by noon it's on the golden gate. by noon, 3:00, it's dissipated and moved out of the south bay leaving a tenth of an inch behind around the bay, a quarter inch in the north bay and less than a tenth of an inch the south bay. >> i'm thinking it should be on the other side of that little graphic there. >> no. we'll get warmer next week when fall rolls in. >> thank you. >> you bet. >> commuters, listen up. monday people who drive parts of interstate 680 will have a new option to speed up their commute. the expressway lane will open between sunol and milpitas. carpoolers get to use the lane for free but solo drivers can use it for a fee. signs will alert drivers to the entries and exits and how much

it will cost. prices will rise and fall based on congestion, 30 cents when there is nonand up to $6 for peak times. for now free for everybody overnight from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. >> shareholders at two major airlines approved a deal to form the world's largest airline. continental airline officials announced preliminary results in houston while shareholders for united voted in chicago. today's vote clears the way for the $3 billion swap to close in about two weeks. >> friday so perfect pets. >> mike nicco's going to be back

man: we need a sofa. something i can stretch out on! woman: ooh... that will go with those lamps my mother gave us. or we could get some new lamps. or we could get no sofa. negotiating, eh? you got it! how about a nice home for our tv? how about doors to hide that drive-in theater? how about a cowhide rug? yee-haw! and the snacks? get their own place. let the marathon begin!

- well, how about... - that smokers' helpline? yeah, they can give me a plan. - help me through the rough spots. - so you're ready to... quit? everyone wants me to quit-- my doctor, my wife, the dog. - not good for the dog. - anyone else? hmm? what? anyone else want you to quit? me! i want me to quit. tdd# 800-933-4833 - ( rings ) - woman: smokers' helpline. oh, hi, it's me.

today on oprah at 4:00 ultimate wild dreams plus oprah announces her latest book. at 5:00 abc 7 news, how much are you worth? the average american's net value takes a dip. we're going to talk to sarah shourd about when her niece is coming home after spending 14 months in an iranian prison. >> got a lot of love to sure? how about the perfect pet. >> mike to introduce uses to a

cute new friend. >> so cute he doesn't want to show his face. too busy getting loved by me. look over there. please, please. sasquatch, hi. hi, jennifer from the san francisco spca. sasquatch, tell us the story how you ended up with him. >> a shepherd sheepdog, a shelterty, he is looking for a new home. >> tell us about you said they're pretty smart. >> these dogs are really, really smart. they're herders, basically miniature border collies and they are working dogs so they wanna please. they're superdevoted, great candidates for training classes. everybody from basic manner to training classes. >> what if you have cats or other dogs? >> you have to see how the relationship grows. >> good news. we had another dog to bring in but he was adopted. >> he was adopted. >> so if you want to adopt

sasquatch, call san francisco spca. this was nice meeting you. let us know who needs to be adopted. >> thanks for having us. >> you bet. back to you. >> sasquatch is just full of love. love. needs to get a good wouldn't it be nice if every time meg whitman told a lie her nose would grow? newspapers report the claims in this meg whitman ad are false. and she knows it. taxes went down under jerry brown. but whitman's nose keeps growing by the millions.

everyday i eat your soups, i save a lot of money. that's great. so, your rich and hearty soups have made me, rich and hearty. that's funny. i'm hearty because of your juicy steak, your potatoes... you're really, rich and happy. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. so, you can eat them right here... or eat green giant beans at home... ...frozen within 8 hours to lock in nutrients. up to you. [ green ant ] ho ho ho ♪ green giant. meg whitman's nose keeps growing. whitman says california lost jobs under jerry brown. turns out 1.9 million jobs were created. she spent millions saying jerry brown raised taxes. fact is brown cut 4 billion in taxes.